Judging & presentations

The Learning Technologies Awards is the leading awards scheme in the industry, and the judging process it uses is led and co-ordinated by the eLearning Network, based on a team of judges drawn from leading professionals in learning and development.

The awards are so credible because there has always been a very robust judging process in place, one that is entirely independent of the organisers.  Awards are only won by the very best because of the breadth and depth of the scrutiny every entry comes under, and the fact that all the judges are chosen for their independence, for their skill, depth of experience and reputation, and for their contribution to and passion for learning technologies. 

Judging is a long and involved process, and rightly so - it must absolutely do justice to the eventual award winners.  The judging team is assembled in spring ready for the submissions that come in at the end of July. Judges are split into smaller panels according to their expertise, and each panel reviews at least one category.

There are usually about 45 judges and over 400 submissions for them to review. 

Shortlisting takes place throughout August.  To decide on the shortlist judges must read and review all the submission in their category and score them against a set of criteria.  This can take several days and also involves meetings with fellow judge panellists to decide on the finalists.

Depending on how many entries are received in each category, there may be just handful of entries to review, or there could 40 or more entries!  Final shortlists are delivered at the beginning of September. 

An important part of the Learning Technologies Awards are the final presentations, which take place in late September and early October.  It is from these that the winners will be selected.  Most categories now require a presentation to be made, so shortlisted nominees must present their case for an award again, either face-to-face in London, or online. 

Again, this is an involved process – it takes around three weeks to get through all the presentations plus time for the judges’ final deliberations on who gets to win. 

There are around 180 presentations each year in London and online.